Amulet of the Damned

‘I told Sir Ursus not to take the amulet, to leave it be in it’s resting place. But he would not listen. We now trek to his place of hiding to remove the amulet and return it, and to destroy that which Ursus has become. ’

- Arch-Danath Maccalas of the Dark Step Tribe

‘And a bright light shone from the stone hand of Caedmon, the lost God. The statue having lost most of it’s features from the passage of time, it’s only discernable feature left was the crest about the shoulder of the Horned Eye of Caedmon. The triangular shaped stone was smooth and warm to the touch, a small diamond glistening in the middle. A voice spoke, booming and ominous upon removing the amulet. “My children are many and strong in the shadows, take great care that leading them will send you down a path of shadows. Accept it and become stronger than any living being, deny it and crumble to dust at my feet. The choice to make is yours, the power to give is mine.”

I told Sir Ursus not to take the amulet, to leave it be in it’s resting place. But he would not listen. We now trek to his place of hiding to remove the amulet and return it, and to destroy that which Ursus has become. ’

- Arch-Danath Maccalas of the Dark Step Tribe

Full Item Description
The Amulet of the Damned was a device created by the lost god Caedmon, or one of his more powerful of followers. It is a dark stone of flecked white that is smooth like a river stone, caressed over the ages by nature. A small diamond seems to have grown directly in the center of the stone, a natural beauty from natures vault.

History
Its original purpose behind its creation was to allow the wearer to control the undead minions that flocked to Caedmon’s call. When Caedmon was alive and twisting the fate of the mortals below to his whim, the undead began flooding to his call in the hopes of reward beyond death. While there were the intelligent Souless and wraiths able to control their undead minions, a living mortal could not. So the Amulet of the Damned was needed.

Through the creation of captured souls and a trapped piece of heartstone, the amulet gave the wearer the ability to control the undead, unerringly. Every command was followed obediently, even if it meant their destruction. A follower by the name of Trai Calis commanded the undead armies of Caedmon during the War of the Gods, fighting back the mortals on the island now called Isle de Sangellaso. The Island of Blood. However, his greed took over him and he tried to go beyond the boundaries of Caedmon’s control. During the War of the Gods, Caedmon fought for his divine life and failed. When he disappeared, Trai’s control over the undead wavered and his fate was sealed. He still controlled the undead, but he began to waste away himself until one day he awoke and the sun hurt his eyes to view it, and food and water failed to quench his belly. The Amulet of the Damned and the souls within had taken control over him and had slowly turned him into that which he controled.

Unable to control the undead horde, they immediately tore him to pieces and hide the amulet in a destroyed temple of the now lost god, Caedmon. Every century a hapless innocent will find the amulet and gain control of the dead for a short time, until they themself turn to a decaying husk.

A few have been able to wrest control even after their death with knowledge of their mortal life still usable. Mages and priests of the dark gods said they still had answers to their questions, replies to their prayers. It is a horrible day indeed when a dark soul is turn by the Amulet of the Damned and they are able to withstand the horde of undeath that wishes to repay them for their indenture.

Magic/Cursed Properties
The item gives full control over the undead. Commands will be followed without reluctance and with complete obedience.

The wearer feels completely refreshed the moment they wear it, feeling warm and revitalized. It will also heal all minor injuries, but only the first time it is worn.

It is a given fact that once the amulet is worn and control of the undead are forced to obey, the wearer must keep the item on or suffer the wrath of the undead they have commanded. Any undead they have not commanded will have no other feelings of hatred toward them, so will not actively hunt them.

Cursed
The item is cursed. Trai Calis had worn the amulet for a total of one hundred and three days before he began to change. Once the amulet is worn, the body will slowly begin to die. The wearer will not feel this happening as they will always feel refreshed. Once the item is worn for one hundred and three days, the change is complete. They awake to a frightful dream of their heart stopping and their breath not coming to their lungs, even on command. They awake to find their life has changed.

The item can be removed but their change from living to undead can not be reversed. Once the item is worn and the undead are commanded, their fate is sealed as once they take the amulet off, the undead that were commanded seek vengence.

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A well written item and one that certainly has it uses. I must admit that I have seen similar before, but it is still a good item. It is a solid, good post that rise above the common submission due to its background, plot possibilities and excellent writing. You are a very good writer.

Edit: Removed the references to good english as Mourn felt that was a given. I, having seen less impressive post from native writers, tend to disagree, but I bow to the author's wishes

I kinda like it, more for the story and description than the effect. Although, assuming you could deal with the undead and/or manipulate the poor sod, might prove an interesting way to assassinate someone.

The ultimate price to pay for power. Reading the description in detail, the wearer seems to be in no danger until he puts down the Amulet - what if he doesn't? I would think that the undead under his command would start to hate him anyway - maybe they would still obey his commands, but would work against him at every opportunity, the smarter ones twisting his commands to his detriment, etc. So for instance, if not commanded to attack, they could simply let adventurers get right to him (suprise!).

The amulet gives the living control of the undead. Not the undead control over the undead. Once the wearer/ user is turned they loose their ability to control that which they have become. A double edged sword.

A subtle curse, but implacable in its effects. I can see this thing falling into the hands of a powerful leader, who could wield it to build undead into an army to overthrow his enemies, only discovering its curse too late. Someone who hoped to command the undead to leave his lands could instead find himself plagued with them as they return for their vengeance.

The main thought I had with this item, is why would the undead necessarily seek vengeance? If the figure was evil enough in life, the undead may willingly follow them, or bear no animosity (beyond the normal undead hatred). However, if the undead were created through his actions, or were ordered to do things they would not have willingly done otherwise, then I could easily see vengeance being sought.

I see it as the undead, mostly, do not want to be undead. They wish for their eternal release from their state. And anyone who commands them and keeps them from that state are their enemy. They just can not do anything while they are under their control.

Regions

Freetext

A people who believe it is incredibly impolite to speak to anybody they meet for the first time. They believe their actions should speak for them until they are comfortable in each others presence and can then trust each other. Only then would converstation be appropriate.